A continuation of CKUW's morning radio show 'Better Than Chocolate' (voted People's Choice for Favourite Spoken Word Show in 2008) in which you'll find news about Winnipeg events.
Have a great day. How can you miss - you're in Winnipeg!

The No.1 Northern's Free-Mo group HO modular layout, the largest modular layout in the province, will be on display.
There'll be a portable N gauge layout on display!
Learn how to operate your model railroad with a cell phone! (Yes, there's an app)
Try operating a John Allen Timesaver HO switching yard.
Attend model railroading clinics, demonstrations, and video presentations.
Vector Trains will be setting up a G scale display!

The Man with the Giraffe Cars will be there for the kids!!!!
Kids, have your parent take your picture with the Man with the Giraffe Cars!
He'll also let you unload the operating cars!

Experience the sights and sounds of fall migration while enjoying an elegant three-course dinner prepared by Chef Kelley, followed by a roof-top migration presentation and fly-in of geese and ducks at sunset.

Two time Governor General winning playwright Catherine Banks reading excerpts from award winning "It is Solved by Walking", "Miss N Me" and her latest work in progress "The Mountain and the Valley".
There will be an opportunity to ask questions and chat with the playwright.

This is the 5th annual Grass Routes Sustainability Festival. This year, we’re contemplating INTERSECTIONS. We’re thinking about the streets, the art, the politics, the design, the communities, the bustle that make up Winnipeg- and where they meet. Join us to create and explore the intersections of our city.

Camerata Nova joins international star tenor Michael Slattery and La Nef, an early music group from Montréal, in a creative concert based on the music of Renaissance composer John Dowland. With great skill, charm and integrity, La Nef has arranged Dowland’s music in Celtic style, as it would have been played in an Irish Pub in the early 1600s.

For Dowland in Dublin, La Nef features Sylvain Bergeron (lute and arrangements),
Alex Kehler (violin), Amanda Keesmaat, as well as Seán Dagher (cittern and arrangements)
and Grégoire Jeay (flute and recorders).

Featuring Glenn St. John on stage. Free meals. Free live music. Free food hampers. What a great way to come together as a community!

If you’d like to volunteer at the next café night, show up at 5:30 p.m. and join in!
See Meaghan Pauls, our coordinator, if you have any questions.
Everyone is welcome as a guest when the doors open at 6:30 p.m.
If you need a free food hamper on Friday night, please register with our community partner Winnipeg Harvest at 204-982-3660 (Monday-Saturday, 8:30 AM-4:00 PM).

Last time we rocked Shannon's, there were covers of The Tragically Hip, The Rolling Stones, Fiona Apple, The Mars Volta, Foo Fighters and more, interspersed between the groovy folk-rock music that is Lindsey White!
Rock and roll with shameless balladry. Free hugs. Alasdair Dunlop, Mitch Dorge & Joe Curtis.

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October 18, 8:00 pm
Viscount Gort Hotel, 1670 Portage Avenue

Tickets $25 each online and have them waiting for you at the door
or pick them up at our adoption centre 489 Madison St.

Time to put on your best bib and tucker, or your most creative costume, and strut your stuff at Craig Street Cats’ Black Cat Ball! This year we're turning on the glitz.

Cash Bar | Late Supper | Silent Auction | Costume Contest

Celebrity Guest Judge: Frankie Hollywood
Music by Soundwave Music Services

We will be on site with information and an adoptable or two. Stop on by!!

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October 11, 1:00 pm
Main St and Higgins Ave, Winnipeg

Keeping Winnipeg Warm - A drive to help keep Winnipeg warm this winter!
Blankets, jackets, anything is better then nothing!
In partnership with Pay it Forward Winnipeg.
If you’d like to donate anything you can just bring it down. Drop off locations.

In 2003, she received the UN Award for Outstanding Achievement in the field of Human Rights. She is the Founding President of PDHRE, People's Movement for Human Rights Learning and the initiator of the movement for Human Rights Cities. In 2011, by invitation from Mikhail Gorbochev, she received a Gold medal from the Pio Munza Foundation for her "contribution to humanity" as a woman of the 21st century.

Tickets are $25, available at: McNally Robinson, Status of Women, LEAF Manitoba
Proceeds support the advancement of the equality of all women.

LEAF Manitoba is the provincial Branch of a national voluntary sector non-profit organization, which advances the equality of women and girls in Canada, through strategic litigation, law reform, and education.

There will be no zombie walk this year due to the red tape and opposition from the City of Winnipeg. Please ask your political candidates what their official ZOMBIE platform is in this upcoming civic election. THE WALK WILL RISE AGAIN!

Featuring work by writers such as Stephen King, Alice Munro and Lynn Coady and local authors. All proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada.

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October 8, 7:00 pm

The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause: Folk Dance, Film, and the Life of Vasile Avramenko

Vasile Avramenko used folk dance and film in a life-long crusade to promote Ukraine’s struggle for independence to North American audiences.

Orest T. Martynowych also wrote Ukrainians in Canada: The Formative Years, 1891-1924.

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October 8, 7:30 pm

Carbon Finds His Family

Carbon is hurt when his cousins tell him he is different and doesn’t belong to their family. Sad and confused, he sets out to find his family.

Author Laurie Zubert is a member of the Grindstone Art Group.

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October 9, 8:00 pm in Prairie Ink Restaurant

Coming Ashore: A Memoir

Picking up Cathy's story in the late ’60s at age 21, through 7 years and 3 countries.

Catherine Gildiner’s childhood memoir Too Close to the Falls was a New York Times and Globe and Mail bestseller. In 2009, she published the sequel, After the Falls, also a bestseller. Her novel, Seduction, was an international bestseller.

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October 11, 7:00 pm

The Other “R” in Education: Relationships

The importance of teachers building positive connections with their students and families. Patricia Trottier, M.Ed., has 32 years experience as an administrator, student services specialist and teacher.

$1.00 from each book sold will be donated to Connect Employment Services.

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October 12, 2:00 pm

That’s My Story: Moving Down a Courageous Path (Book 2 of a Trilogy)

Estelle Reder leads the reader down a spiritual path towards inner peace. She is a life coach, a public speaker, a Reiki Master/Teacher, certified in CranioSacral, Body Reading and Tarot. She hosts meditation groups and seminars.

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October 14, 7:00 pm

Thomas King in conversation with Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

and signing The Back of the Turtle

A member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of an award from the National Aboriginal Foundation, Thomas King is an award-winning novelist, short story writer, scriptwriter and photographer. His work includes Medicine River; Truth and Bright Water; One Good Story, That One; and A Short History of Indians in Canada.Green Grass, Running Water was named to Quill & Quire’s Best Canadian Fiction of the Century list.

Sinclair is an award-winning editor and writer. He is co-editor of the collection The Winter We Danced: Voices of the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement.

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October 15, 7:00 pm

Winter Moon Song

Have you ever seen the rabbit-in-the-moon? Folktales from many cultures explain how the rabbit came to be there. With illustrations by Leticia Ruifernandez.

Martha Brooks is a novelist, playwright and jazz singer. She is a three-time winner of the Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year, the Ruth Schwartz Award, the Mr. Christie’s Book Award, the Governor General’s Award, and the Vicky Metcalf Award.

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October 15, 7:30 pm

Composer Sid Robinovitch will talk about Jewish influences on his music and about a recent work entitled Songs in a Time of War, which will be performed by the Winnipeg Singers under the direction of Yuri Klaz at the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue on October 19.

Alison Preston has written seven novels. Her last book, The Girl in the Wall, won the Margaret Laurence Award for fiction in 2012.

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October 17, 7:00 pm

The Raven Sonata hosted by Ariel Gordon

Elyse is attracted to Finn, her piano instructor. Accepting Caellum’s proposal gets Elyse more than she bargained for, putting her relationship with Finn to the test.

Author Kittie Wong, a member of the Manitoba Writers Guild, recently passed her Royal Conservatory of Music Grade 8 piano exam.

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October 18, 7:00 pm

Accommodating A Broken Soul

With an alcoholic father and barely any life left worth living, how will Vivietta survive? A story of love and appreciating who you are, written by 14 year old Sage Dahl.

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October 19, 2:00 pm

The Chair By the Side of the Road

Every year Luka doubled in height, and the villagers worried that he would destroy his village. A story about how it feels to be on the outside looking in, by Adrian Hawaleshka, Assistant Professor at University of Manitoba.

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October 19, 3:00 pm

Who We Are: Reflections on My Life and Canada

Party leader Elizabeth May reflects on her extraordinary life, providing personal perspectives on her approach to politics, policy, and what it means to be Canadian.

May is the first elected Green Party Member of Parliament. She worked at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and helped to found the Canadian Environmental Defence Fund. She was executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada from 1986 to 2006.

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October 19, 5:00 pm

The Blue Fox, From the Belly of a Whale, and The Whispering Muse

Award-winning novelist, poet, and playwright Sjón has written songs for Björk, and was nominated for an Oscar for the lyrics he cowrote for Dancer in the Dark.

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October 20, 7:30 pm

Pain and Prejudice: What Science Can Learn about Work from the People Who Do It

When workers at a phosphate refinery learned that the ore they processed was contaminated with radioactive dust, Karen Messing was called in. She went from looking at test tubes to listening to workers.

An award-winning and internationally recognized expert on occupational health, Karen Messing is the author of the book One-eyed Science: Occupational Health and Working Women. She is the editor of Integrating Gender in Ergonomic Analysis.

Tarot Reading - part of Culture Days! Enjoy the fabulous art by a variety of local artists and maybe get a glimpse of your future.

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October 2, Doors: 7:15 pm, Show 8:00 pm
Fort Gibraltar, 866 Rue St. Joseph
$20 Tickets can be purchased at the Folk Festival Music Store and Music Trader in Winnipeg

Kick off your BreakOut West weekend Voyageur style with a big outdoor party. Western Canadian Music Award winner and indie music darling Dan Mangan will take the stage, along with Vancouver punk duo PinkBrown, and Yes We Mystic.

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October 3 and 4, 8:00 pm
The Pyramid Cabaret, 176 Fort Street

$20 gets you in to BOTH NIGHTS - at Folk Festival Music Store and Music Traders

Get ready for one of Canada's best music showcase festivals!

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October 4, 8:00 pm
West End Cultural Centre, 586 Ellice Avenue

Tickets $19.50 Ticketmaster and at the Winnipeg Folk Festival Music Store

The Winnipeg Folk Festival is thrilled to present The Wooden Sky. Formed as the bedroom project of singer / songwriter / guitarist Gavin Gardiner, Toronto-based country-folk / indie rock collective The Wooden Sky have grown exponentially throughout the years.

I recently wrote a book called ‘Decaf Coffee Dates: Stories & Insights from Winnipeg Seniors’. These people inspire me everyday, and I feel super lucky that I can share their stories with you. I'm having a book signing and it would be nice to see you. - Larissa Peck

POP LOCOMOTIF, Winnipeg’s new indie-pop dance party brings together Winnipeg’s best indie acts and DJs in an unforgettable night for those who like their pop music fun, dark and slightly strange.
We'll be doing this four times a year. Join us for the first ever Pop Locomotif!
Along for the ride this time is: Indicator IndicatorSurprise PartyReadymix DJs
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October 12, 11:45 pm - 2:00 am
Tickets $15 at The Park Theatre, Music Trader or online
Tickets $10 with Bombay Bicycle Club (Garrick) or Ryan Adams (Burton Cummings) tickets.

Bombay Bicycle Club (Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Suren de Saram and Ed Nash), performing a DJ set / After party. BBC are playing at The Garrick Centre and this is the official after party, doing a DJ set to keep you dancing right into your holiday Monday.

Dub FX is Melbourne born, Ben Stanford. He has performed in 40 countries, sold over 100,000 records, and played the world’s top festivals including Coachella, Sziget, Glastonbury, Woodstock, Falls and Shambala.

VILIFY (Bass Drive Wednesdays / Sennheiser / Sky Rocket) For nearly a decade VILIFY has been dropping DJ sets as diverse as the crowds on her dancefloors.

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October 4, 7:00 pm
Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street

Neechi’s Night at the Ballet - For those who purchased tickets through Neechi,

the total cost is $32.00 per ticket; pay me at the Concert Hall at the front doors.

Just a few minutes ago I received the following text message on my phone from Sean Malone who leads Crisis Relief International (CRI). We then spoke briefly on the phone and I assured him that we would share this urgent prayer need with all of our contacts.

"We lost the city of Queragosh (Qaraqosh). It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically.

This is the city we have been smuggling food to. ISIS has pushed back Peshmerga (Kurdish forces) and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working. Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night. The UN evacuated its staff in Erbil. Our team is unmoved and will stay. Prayer cover needed!"

Please pray sincerely for the deliverance of the people of Northern Iraq from the terrible advancement of ISIS and its extreme Islamic goals for mass conversion or death for Christians across this region.

May I plead with you not to ignore this email. Do not forward it before you have prayed through it. Then send it to as many people as possible. Send it to friends and Christians you may know. Send it to your prayer group. Send it to your pastor and phone him/her to pray on Sunday during the service - making a special time of prayer for this. We need to stand in the gap for our fellow Christians.

"And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercifully and to walk humbly with your God." -Micah 6:8

Per Brask, professor in the Dept. of Theatre and Film at the U of W., is also an accomplished dramaturge and has published poetry, plays, short stories, essays and literary translations.

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Inspired by Tucson’s first Jewish mayor, Tucson Jo is packed with derring-do while dealing with serious moral issues.

The 45th book by Carol Matas, award-winning author for children and young adults.

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October 1, 7:30 pm

Raziel Reid’s When Everything Feels Like the Movies

and Vivek Shraya’s She of the Mountains

When Everything… is an extravagant novel, full of gender-bending teen glamour, dark mischief, and enough melodrama to incite the paparazzi.

Raziel Reid is an anti-social columnist and creator of the blog Blitz & Shitz.

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Vivek Shraya, author of God Loves Hair, weaves a passionate, contemporary love story between a man and his body, with a re-imagining of Hindu mythology. The illustrations are by Raymond Biesinger.

Vivek has released albums ranging from acoustic folk-rock to electro synth-pop. His film, What I LOVE about being QUEER, has expanded to an online project and book.

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October 1, 8:30 pm

Songwriters’ Open Mic Night in Prairie Ink Restaurant.

For more information call Karen at 204-975-2659.

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October 2, 7:00 pm

The Patriotic Consensus: Unity, Morale, and the Second World War in Winnipeg

When the Second World War broke out Winnipeg was culturally diverse, with class divisions, and a tradition of political protest. Given the city’s divides, was the Second World War a unifying event for Winnipeg residents?

Sue Carlisle tells of life on a reservation and the struggles her parents had with her disabled brother. Join her on a journey of discovering the creation of an awesome Creator.

Sue spent her youth on the Wind River Reservation. She is a columnist for Indian Life.

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October 4, 7:00 pm

Northern Lake Adventures: The Encounter

The fairies were about to celebrate their Summer Solstice when they heard “Boom, crash, skreech.” This fiction fantasy book is for middle-years school youths.

Mary Mikawoz is a teacher with a passion for writing, photography, art, and digital design.

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October 5, 2:00 pm

The Collar: Reading Christian Ministry in Fiction, Television, and Film

A study of the ways Christian ministers have been represented on page and screen.

Sue Sorensen is the author of a novel, A Large Harmonium, winner of the 2012 Award for Best First Book at the Manitoba Book Awards. She is also a published poet and the editor of West of Eden: Essays on Canadian Prairie Literature.

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October 6, 7:00 pm

Adult Onset

A powerful drama about motherhood, the dark undercurrents that break and hold families together, and the power and pressures of love.

Ann-Marie MacDonald is a bestselling, award-winning novelist, playwright, actor and broadcaster. Her works include Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), Fall On Your Knees and The Way the Crow Flies.

A rich, racy and righteous look at the era now made famous by Mad Men. The exhibit highlights important and some never-before-seen works of Winnipeg art created in the 1950s and 60s. These relevant works still have the power to surprise and delight us today.

Boston Terrier and Pug Rescue has been invited to attend the 2014 Manitoba Basset Hound Walk. We will have our table set up with some of our cool merchandise.

All proceeds raised from this year's walk will support the BTPRSM.

We rescued two Basset Hounds recently. Hope and Chance (now Loki) were both strays and entered our rescue with the help of Trina Gallop. We are so happy we could be of assistance. Loki will be attending, so come and meet the Pug and Boston Terrier wannabe!

"Some couples play bridge or rob banks, we exhibit together," says Diana Thorneycroft of her relationship with Michael Boss. Despite creating together for over 20 years their approaches to making art are in complete contrast. While Thorneycroft's work challenges us with the darkness in the human consciousness, Boss gives conviction and love as solace.

September 17, 2014

And thank you for visiting, whether you're a daily, weekly or occasional guest!

Winnipeg is Better Than Chocolate is a continuation of Better Than Chocolate, a show I did with Sophie Kolt on the University of Winnipeg's radio station, CKUW 95.9 FM.

Every Thursday morning program we tried to present Winnipeg happenings, news, music, local personalities and a bit of humour.

We were voted People’s Choice for Favourite Spoken Word Show in 2008!

This bloghas gone through a few changes over the past five years.

At first I did three posts a week, with each post focusing on one topic.

Then I found myself doing a post daily, sometimes even twice a day.

Recently I’ve been presenting a mix of posts - some focusing on one place, such as the library, while others are a grouping of a few events at different venues.

I hope you find the new format more useful.

Winnipeg is Better Than Chocolate started as an arts and social events blog.

Every so often I also posted about actual issues and news.

It looks like you care about these topics, too.

I'll keep posting news and issues as well as the arts.

In July, 2010 Blogger started keeping track of visits to the posts.

The December 24, 2013 Christmas greeting post (Wishing you all the blessings of the season…) gets a few visits a day.

If seeing that post brightens someone’s day, that’s fine with me.

I'm amazed at learning where you live.

Canada is still number one, closely followed by the United States.

No surprise there, since folks from the States vacation in Canada.

I was surprised to learn that people in Russia, Germany, France, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, China, Poland, Moldova, Turkey, Ireland, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Argentina, Denmark, Japan, Sweden and Eritrea - just to name the top visitors - check out events in Winnipeg.

Hustle for Hunger - join us for a 3k walk or a 5 or 10K run!
Registration is $30.00 for adults or $100.00 for a team of 4
Post Race Breakfast at Conservatory for Particpants
In support of Agape Table "Friends feeding Friends"

The five-day 9th annual WNDX FESTIVAL OF MOVING IMAGE explodes off the screen with a thrilling selection of experimental film and video, innovative installations and projector performances of expanded cinema from filmmakers from Winnipeg and around the world.

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September 27, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Thunderbird House, 715 Main Street

A grassroots-driven event to meet Winnipeg's 2014 Mayoral candidates!

Hosted by Winnipeg Indigenous Rock the Vote (WIRTV).

Winnipeg elects its Mayor, City Councillors & School Trustees on OCTOBER 22, 2014

I will be at Portage and Carlton handing out sandwiches and any clothing (blankets) I can get! So I encourage you all to look through the items you don’t use and save them for the 28th. Come meet up with me downtown. I don’t have much and I will need all the help I can get! IF YOU CAN’T DONATE ITEMS OR FOOD, DONATE YOUR TIME and have a few conversations. People don’t just need things, they need to know people see and care for them ♥ The Bannock Lady

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October 2, 9:00 pm
The Cavern, 112 Osborne Street

NAYSA is releasing their new EP "Losing Weight” with "How I'm Feeling Lately”.

We have our first ALL FEMALE workshop! Jess Rae Ayre (of Sweet Alibi), Ingrid Gatin, Vanessa Kuzina (of Oh My Darling) and Cassidy Mann will all be on stage sharing their favourite outlaw country classics. Kieran West will be hosting.

Heartworn Highways features four local artists covering some outlaw country classics. Backed by a full house band, local favourites, The Buffalo Band.
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September 27, 7:30 pm - a happy hour, the event begins at 9.

Tickets $10 and at The Park Theatre, Music Trader, or from one of the comedians!

The heart of rock and roll is alive and well with Fred Eaglesmith’s 20th album, Tambourine. Fusing together all of Fred’s influences, the result is pure rock ‘n ‘roll of 1966.

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The Purple Room at FRAME, 318 Ross Ave.

Sept. 27, 2014 is Cassette Store Day
No Charge for the event - but donations gladly accepted.

Dub Ditch Records will be laying out a TON of tapes and invite all the other tape friendly folks to do the same. We're getting some of our friends to perform as well!
If you want to be a part as a maker of tapes, a label, or volunteer catch us
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September 30, Doors 6:30 PM Bands 7 PM - 11:00 pm

The Winnipeg Folk Festival and Union Events are proud to present Beach House.

Beach House is Alex Scally and Victoria Legrand and Bloom is the band’s fourth full-length album. Like their previous releases (Beach House, Devotion, and Teen Dream), it further develops their distinctive sound yet stands apart as a new piece of work. The landscape of Bloom was largely designed during two years of tour.

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Welcome to Winnipeg!

While I was born in Malta, raised in NY and lived in BC, Winnipeg is home.
I've co-hosted an award winning radio show.
I've been published in newspapers and literary anthologies and my plays have been produced.